Ermek Serkebaev

Ermek Bekmūhamedūly Serkebaev (; 4 July 1926 – 16 November 2013) was a Soviet and Kazakh chamber and opera baritone singer, actor, and educator. He received many awards including People's Artist of the USSR in 1959 and Hero of Socialist Labour in 1986.

Biography Serkebayev was born in Petropavl on 4 July 1926. His father Bekmukhamed Khusainovich Serkebayev was a Kazakh language teacher, editor of Kedei Sozi newspaper; he also wrote articles and scripts for Kazakh plays. Ermek's mother Zylikha Sabirovna Serkebayeva was a primary school teacher, she had a sharp ear for music and a beautiful voice. Ermek was fond of music from an early age, and balalaika was the first instrument he learned to play.

When the family moved from Kokchetav to Alma-Ata in 1937, parents sent Ermek to Tchaikovsky Alma-Ata Music Academy to study violin. In 1951 he graduated from the singing course led by Kurganov, himself an alumnus of the Italian vocal school, at the Kurmangazy Kazakh Conservatoire. Ermek Serkebayev worked as an anchorman at Kazakhstan Radio and a soloist at the Abay Kazakh Opera and Ballet Theater.

Ermek Serkebayev also performed as a chamber and stage singer, singing Kazakh folk songs, compositions by Russian and foreign composers. He toured a lot and performed in over 50 countries, including Belgium, China, Cuba, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland. He repeatedly served on and chaired juries of renowned music competitions, including Tchaikovsky International Competition and Glinka International Music Competition.

In 1973 he started teaching singing at the Kazakh Conservatoire and became a professor in 1982.

Ermek Serkebayev had been the chairman of the Kazakhstani Republican Union of Musicians and a member of the executive committee of the International Union of Music Professionals (Moscow) since 1988. In his autumn years, he combined these roles with that of advisor to the President of Abay Kazakh State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater (where he also continued to perform as a singer).

Ermek Serkebayev died in Almaty on 16 November 2013.

Family Serkebayev was married four times; his son of the first marriage, Baigali Serkebayev, became a well-known musician and leader of A-Studio, a popular band.

Alfia Baizhanova was Ermek's fourth and last wife.

Ermek's brother Murat and niece Jamilya Serkebayeva are other worthy successors of the Serkebayev musical dynasty.

Awards and honors People's Artist of the Kazakh SSR (1958) People's Artist of the USSR (1959) USSR State Prize (1977) Hero of Socialist Labour (1986) Two Orders of Lenin (one in 1986) Order of the October Revolution (1984) Order of Fatherland (1997) Order of the Red Banner of Labour

Career

Roles Birzhan and Sara by Mukan Tulebayev – Birzhan Amangeldy by Mukan Tulebayev and Yevgeny Brusilovsky – Amangeldy Abai by Akhmet Zhubanov and Latif Khamidi – Abay Eugene Onegin by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Onegin The Queen of Spades by Tchaikovsky – Yeletsky Iolanta by Tchaikovsky – Robert Mazeppa by Tchaikovsky – Mazepa The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini – Figaro The Taming of the Shrew by Vissarion Shebalin – Petruchio Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Don Giovanni Halka by Stanisław Moniuszko – Janusz Carmen by Georges Bizet – Escamillo Er-Targyn by Yevgeny Brusilovsky – Kapan, Er-Targyn Dudarai by Yevgeny Brusilovsky – Artyom Zhalbyr by Yevgeny Brusilovsky – Sugur Aisulu by Sydyk Mukhamedzhanov – Serke The Young Guard by Yuliy Meitus – Oleg Koshevoy The Ulyanov Brothers by Yuliy Meitus – Vladimir Ulyanov Tulegen Tokhtarov by Akhmet Zhubanov and Latif Khamidi – Tulegen Zhambyl by Latif Khamidi – Zhambyl Alpamys by Erkegali Rakhmadiyev – Alpamys La traviata by Giuseppe Verdi – Alfredo Germont Nazugum by Quddus Khojamyarov – Gul’mat Roméo et Juliette by Charles Gounod – Mercutio Faust by Charles Gounod – Valentin Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin – Prince Igor Enlik-Kebek by Gaziza Zhubanova – Esen Twenty Eight by Gaziza Zhubanova Song of Virgin Soil by Erkegali Rakhmadiyev

Filmography Year Title Original title Role 1957 Our Kind Doctor Наш милый доктор Taken 1961 The Song's Calling Песня зовёт Dosay Nurlanov 1968 Angel Wearing Tubeteyka Ангел в тюбетейке Chingiz 1976 Meeting at Medeu Встречи на Медео Jayran's father, musician

Legacy A memorial plaque was installed in the Almaty house where Ermek Serkebayev lived (at the intersection of Jeltoqsan and Bogenbay Batyr streets) in 2014; In June 2022 Chamber Hall of the Kazakh National Opera and Ballet Theater was named after People's Artist of the USSR Ermek Serkebayev; A 30-meter tall mural of Ermek Serkebayev (designed by Aydar Munaitbasov) was painted in Astana in July 2022.